DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

Following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Hua Jiang, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Good Afternoon.

**Guest at Noon

Our guest today will be Dimitri Vlassis, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer at the UN Centre for International Crime Prevention in Vienna; and he is already here sitting over there.  I will call you when I finish the briefing.  He will be talking about the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

**Secretary-General/African Union Speech

The Secretary-General today addressed the Summit of Heads of State of the African Union in Maputo, Mozambique, and said that, one year after the African Union was launched, everyone recognized that a sense of African responsibility “must be applied to all the challenges facing the continent”.

One of the most pressing such challenges is armed conflict, and the Secretary-General voiced his hope that African leaders will make it their personal mission to convince the continent’s youth that the lives and safety of Africans are sacrosanct.  He also stressed the importance of democratic transformation and good governance, underlining that “democracy also means alternating government”, adding, “If term limits are necessary to make this possible, so be it.”

Above all, he stressed the importance of the fight against AIDS, which he said was vital to the efforts to build a stronger Africa.  So far, he said, the amount spent on the fight against AIDS is not enough, and twice as much is needed to be spent combating the pandemic over the foreseeable future.  He urged the leaders gathered in Maputo to “show the way by example:  by breaking the deadly wall of silence that continues to surround the pandemic, and by making the fight against AIDS a priority second to none”.

We have copies of his speech upstairs.  Also, we have a press release out from UNAIDS, which notes the impact of AIDS on Africa, with 60 million people in Africa either having died from AIDS, living with HIV or having lost parents to AIDS.

**Secretary-General at Africa Union

Earlier this morning, before he addressed the African Union Summit, the Secretary-General met with the Union’s heads of State at a prayer breakfast in which he said that, sadly, “so-called men of religion sometimes invoke the name of God to justify violence against their fellow human beings”.  He said that leaders must have the moral courage to stand against those who encourage violence and hatred, and instead point the way to tolerance and the peaceful resolution of conflict.

This afternoon, he began a series of meetings in the margins of the Summit, starting with Tunisian Foreign Minister Habib Ben Yahia, with whom he discussed regional issues, as well as the importance of support for the Middle East Road Map; they also touched on Iraq.

After that, he met with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Don McKinnon, talking with him about Zimbabwe, including the land reform plan which the Secretary-General and the UN Development Programme had proposed.

The Secretary-General then had a tête-à-tête meeting with President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone.

After that, he met with the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Antoine Ghonda, who was accompanied by representatives of two former parties to the conflict, as well as by a political counsellor to President Joseph Kabila.  The Secretary-General congratulated them on the formation of a transitional national government, but emphasized that the fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has to stop.  He added that he was disappointed that President Kabila did not come to Maputo, where he had hoped to have a summit on the DRC.  The next opportunity for such a summit could be at the General Assembly in September.

After those meetings, the Secretary-General is scheduled to discuss the situation in Zimbabwe with Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.

Then, in the evening, he is to attend a banquet hosted by President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique.

**Liberia

The latest update on Liberia from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs notes that, despite the relative calm stemming from a tenuous ceasefire in Monrovia, aid workers are struggling to meet the needs of Liberians.

Humanitarian agencies in Monrovia are constrained by an uncertain security environment, coupled with shortages of both staff and supplies in the face of growing needs.

Monrovia’s civilians -- including roughly 200,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) sheltering in more than 80 locations around the city -- are faced with a high rate of crime, shortages of food, clean drinking water, health care, and sanitation.

A breakdown in law and order and the threat of renewed hostilities prevent IDPs from foraging for food in the bush.  People are resorting to increasingly desperate measures to obtain food, such as selling off their remaining possessions.

Hospitals, already overwhelmed by the rise in the number of patients, now lack the necessary water for basic activities, such as bathing and cleaning.  Throughout Monrovia, the number of cases of diarrhoea, measles and malaria continues to rise.

Together with the Liberian Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO) plans to carry out a mass chlorination of wells in Monrovia, but lacks transportation necessary to distribute the 650 kilograms of chlorine that are available.

There are more details in the press release available in our Office.

**Secretary-General to Washington

I have already made this announcement today, but I want to say it for the record that the Secretary-General plans to travel to Washington on Monday,

14 July, to meet with President Bush and his advisers.  While in Washington, the Secretary-General also plans to meet with a number of Congress members and Senators.

**Iraq

Earlier today, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, travelled to the city of Hilla, about 100 kilometres south of Baghdad in the governorate of Babylon.

This fourth trip to the provinces is part of Vieira de Mello’s continuing endeavour to meet and listen to representatives of a large spectrum of Iraqi society.

While there, he met with the local governor, Iskander Jawad Witwit.  The Special Representative told him that he was keen to hear directly from the Iraqis and learn from them how best they can run their country and how they will receive the soon to be announced “Interim Governing Council”, as a transitional arrangement until a more representative Iraqi Government will be in place.

Vieira de Mello then met with Sayyid Farqad Qazwini, a ranking clergy, at the Religious University of Hilla.  Both the clerk and the governor stressed the need for the UN, as a neutral party, to play a larger role in Iraq.

He also had the opportunity to meet with a group of students taking their final exam and visit a hospital in the city.

Back in Baghdad, the Special Representative met with Brunson McKinley, Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).  They reviewed the political process in Iraq and the impending formation of an “Interim Governing Council”, the importance of proper planning the return of refugees, and the role of IOM in assisting in projects related to demobilization and property restitution.

He also met Yuki Okamoto, a special adviser to the Japanese Prime Minister, who briefed on a joint Japanese-Egyptian project to rehabilitate Iraqi hospitals and train Iraqi doctors and nurses.

For more complete information, please pick up the daily report from Vieira de Mello’s office.

**Iraq - Humanitarian

The UN Development Fund for Women -– UNIFEM –- will start a programme aimed at creating an environment which promotes equal participation for women in political and economic governance at local, national, regional and global levels, and increasing recognition and support for their citizenship role at household and community levels.  The UNIFEM will be working with international non-governmental organizations, as well as with local women’s groups.

Meanwhile the World Health Organization said its largest delivery of medical supply to Iraq, under the “oil-for-food” programme, arrived in Baghdad earlier this week.  The 40-truck convoy carried 500 metric tonnes of insulin, intravenous fluid, antiseptics and other supplies, which is meant to last until the end of August.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it would start registering some 80,000 Palestinian refugees in Iraq by the beginning of next month.  The registration exercise is necessary so UNHCR can provide the Palestinians with documents as a first measure of protection.

Lastly, this week, 5.5 million Iraqi children successfully completed their year-end exams.  Given the prevailing conditions, this can be considered as a major achievement, both for the children and their families, said a UNICEF spokesman.

For more information on all these items, please pick up the Baghdad briefing notes upstairs.

**Security Council

The Security Council held closed consultations today on Burundi, on which it received a briefing from Haile Menkerios, the new Director of the Africa One Division of the Department of Political Affairs.

He informed the Council that, on 7 July, a large-scale offensive was launched by one rebel faction on the southern suburbs of the capital, Bujumbura, and, according to preliminary reports received from the UN Office in Burundi,

170 people have been killed, and 6,000 to 7,000 civilians have already been displaced.

Speaking to the press afterward, Ambassador Inocencio Arias of Spain, the Council President, said that Council members strongly condemned the offensive on Bujumbura and urged an unconditional and immediate end to it.  They also affirmed their full support for the Arusha peace agreements and for the work of the African mission present in Burundi.

We have copies of that statement upstairs.

Tomorrow, the Security Council is expected to hold consultations on the situation in Western Sahara, to be followed by a formal meeting to adopt a resolution which would authorize a 12-month extension of the Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

**Burundi - Humanitarian

We also have a humanitarian update on Burundi, which reports on explosions of mortar rounds in densely populated locations within Bujumbura, including the main Market Place.

Civilians in Bujumbura report that both the rebels and military have actively encouraged civilians to flee the conflict areas.  An estimated 2,000 displaced people, mostly women and children, have been temporarily located in the grounds of the Burundi Life Museum (Musée Vivant).

They have received high-protein biscuits from UNICEF, water from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and medical support from the NGO Médecins sans frontières.

The spread of fighting into Bujumbura punctuates a marked deterioration of security in Burundi.  Now, 16 of Burundi's 17 provinces are subjected to sporadic fighting, looting and armed banditry.  At this time last year, only six of the country's 17 provinces were subject to frequent conflict, while the other 11 were open to and in need of rehabilitation and development.

Almost one in six Burundians continues to live away from their homes.

**Democratic Republic of the Congo

The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo said that a first group of the Bangladeshi contingent is expected Monday, 14 July, in Bunia.  The 175 soldiers will be followed by another 1,110 Bangladeshi troops to be deployed in Ituri.

They will be part of the 3,800 troops due to take over from the Multinational Force, in line with the statement made by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the DRC, William Swing in Bunia. 

The Mission also welcomed the publication of the calendar for the installation of transitional institutions.  According to the calendar, the swearing-in of the Congolese vice-presidents will take place on 17 July and the first meeting of the transitional government is scheduled to take place on the 19th.

We have a press release with more details in the Spokesman’s Office.

**Afghanistan

The UN Mission in Afghanistan said in a press briefing that it deeply regrets the events of two days ago, when protestors invaded the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, visited the Ambassador of Pakistan at the Embassy immediately after the incident.

The Mission said that it was very encouraged by the long conversation that Afghan President Hamid Karzai had with President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan over the telephone.  It believes that all their differences can be settled through bilateral contact and, when necessary, with the help of their friends, which includes the United Nations.

**SARS

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will send a senior Australian veterinarian, Dr. Laurie Gleeson, to China on Friday for a three-week visit to help coordinate an international investigation into the roles animals might play in spreading the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus.  He will be a focal point in communication between Chinese authorities, FAO, the World Health Organization (WHO) and international researchers.

We have a press release with more details upstairs.

**Goodwill Ambassadors

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will appoint a Croatian pop singer and the president of the Union of Armenians of Russia as their new Goodwill Ambassadors.

We have a press release on that.

**Budget

On budget, Algeria today paid nearly $950,000 to become the 93rd Member State to pay its dues in full for 2003.

That’s all I have.  Anything?  Yes, Richard?

Questions and Answers

Question:  Can you tell us the reasons why the Secretary-General is going to Washington?  He was there about a month ago.

Deputy Spokesman:  I think this is a good time for them to compare notes since both of them will, by then, have just finished the trip to Africa, and I think Africa will be featuring in their talks -- in particular, the DRC and Liberia.  And, apart from the subject of Africa, they will also talk about the Middle East, Iraq and Afghanistan and some other subjects of mutual interest.  For example, anti-terrorism, poverty and AIDS.

Question:  Will there be any frustration expressed by the UN officials who are going to the US about the so far lack of formal plan to contribute either forces, logistical forces, some type of aid on the Liberian front?

Deputy Spokesman:  The talks haven’t taken place yet, so I can’t say that there will be any frustrations expressed by any parties.  So, we’ll just have to wait and see.  Edith?

Question:  I’ve got two things, could you tell us who asked for this meeting, and also, there are reports that both Under-Secretaries-General of Peacekeeping and for Political Affairs are going to be accompanying the Secretary-General.  Is that true?

Deputy Spokesman:  I can confirm the second, yes, both the Peacekeeping Department head (Jean-Marie) Guéhenno and the head of the Political Affairs Department, Kieran Prendergast, will be attending the meetings.  But, on your first part of the question, I am not quite sure, so I will have to double-check on that.  Yes, please?

[The Spokesman later confirmed that the Secretary-General asked for the meeting with President Bush.]

Question:  You may have already carried this, but has there been any interaction between the President’s entourage and the UN in the various locations (inaudible) ... President Bush?

Deputy Spokesman:  I think that both parties are very, very busy with their schedules; certainly, their paths haven’t crossed during their trips.  As I have said, before the trip started the Secretary-General has made quite a few calls to Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Question:  (Inaudible)

Deputy Spokesman:  Sorry?

Question:  (Inaudible) ... the Secretary-General was making overtures to the State Department about...?

Deputy Spokesman:  They talked about various subjects of immediate concern; for example, Liberia.

Question:  (Inaudible) ... intend to meet on the way?

Deputy Spokesman:  No, as far as I know they never intended to meet while they are in Africa.  That has never been arranged or is part of the plan.

Question:  What time is the White House meeting?

Deputy Spokesman:  I don’t have the exact time schedule yet.  I think for that you’d have to call the Americans to find out.

All right, would like to join us here?

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